ESPN.com - Terrell Owens

ESPN.com: Page 2

Tuesday, June 3, 2003
Updated: July 2, 6:30 PM ET
Terrell Owens

Page 2 Staff

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens -- he of "Sharpie" fame after a touchdown, among other highly-publicized escapades on the field -- never misses an opportunity to remind us that football is, after all, still a game. Maybe more than anyone else, Owens manages to put the "Fun" back into the No-Fun League, also known as the NFL.


	Part of defeating Terrell Owens is winning the psycho-trash talk battle ... Page 2 was up to it.

Of course, his act doesn't sit well with everybody. Dallas, for example, took umbrage with Owens a while back when, after a score, he spiked the ball on the Cowboys' star at midfield at Texas Stadium. (That's sacred-cow territory down there in Dallas.) And former 49ers coach Steve Mariucci wasn't always amused by Owens' attitude. Those two had a series of ... shall we say, personality conflicts.

Now Dennis Erickson, the new sheriff in San Francisco, "gets" to coach him. And wouldn't you know it, Owens didn't show for Erickson's first minicamp.

Maybe he was perfecting his hoops game. For a while, he played minor-league pro basketball in the United States Basketball League. Or maybe his filming schedule was too tight. He's making a movie in New Orleans this offseason with Jim Brown and Alec Baldwin.

Did we mention that one of the reasons T.O. gets away with the things he gets away with is that he's one of the best receivers in the business?

Tonight, Owens brings his special brand of charisma to "Rome is Burning," hosted by Jim Rome, on ESPN (7 p.m., ET). The man is rarely caught off-guard by anything, but Page 2 did its best with these 10 Burning Questions.

1. What was your favorite piece of fan or email after the Sharpie incident?


	Terrell Owens ... and his famous John Hancock.

Owens: I got an email from a fan in Japan. It was like "Thank you, you're my favorite player." It was all in broken English and was really funny. It was also cool that it came from a fan from Japan.

2. You're NFL commissioner for a day. What tops your priority list?

Owens: Guaranteed contracts. Decrease Practice hours. And allow more freedom of expression for players in dress and actions.

3. What's the most ostentatious bauble you own?

Owens: My yellow diamond earrings.

4. Best Reason NOT to want to be a coach in NFL?

Owens: The hours.


	Erickson

What are your first impressions of Dennis Erickson's sense of humor?

Owens: He's kind of laid back. I haven't really gotten to know his sense of humor.

OK, then, what were your last impressions of Steve Mariucci's sense of humor?

Owens: He always had a saying: "Is this fun or what?"

As long as we're on Mooch, any last thoughts now that he's in Detroit?

Owens: I wish him the best. I can't wait to meet up with him this season.

5. What football movie is crying out to be made? Who stars in it, and why?


	T.O. is officially eligible for TMQ's cheerleading cheesecakes.

Owens: It's a story about a guy that didn't pick football ... football picked him. I star. Because it's my life story.

OK, so who plays you in the Terrell Owens Story?

Owens: If it can't be me? Cuba Gooding Jr. I loved him in "Jerry Maguire," and he has the right attitude and smile. He looks like he has fun at what he does, and that's what I'm all about.

6. Now that the Cowboys' star in the middle of Texas Stadium has become just another notch on your gun, what is the sacred NFL cow most in need of "Terrell Treatment?"

Owens: The Super Bowl. And when I get there, they'll never forget it.

7. Finish the sentence: "I'm jealous of Keyshawn Johnson because & "

Owens: He caught 106 passes and had only one touchdown, but still made the Pro Bowl.

8. Outside football, which one of your 49ers teammates is the most talented?

Owens: As far as I know, their talents are limited to the game. And that's fine with me!

9. What part of your USBL game needed the most work and why?

Owens: My ball-handling.

What's the biggest difference between life in the USBL and life in the NFL?

Owens: The USBL was more free and fun on the field. More freedom of expression was allowed.

Who's a better USBL alum? T.O. or Randy Moss? Why?

Owens: T.O. History will reveal the reasons.

10. Got any suggestions to help New York Giants fans get through the offseason, after the way it ended for them in the playoffs out in San Francisco?

Owens: Yoga, meditation and lots of prayer and forgiveness. Also, the hope that they don't meet up with us next year in the postseason.